Council hires engineers for water, sewer projects

Tuesday

Jun 11, 2013 at 8:00 AM

Water lines on Main, Second, East streets; sewer on Lake Street

Mike Berry

The City Council Monday hired two engineering firms to work on three water main projects and a sewer project.The council hired Farnsworth Group of Peoria to do surveying, design, bidding and permit applications for replacing water mains in three areas: On North Main Street from Seventh Street to 11th Street, on East Second Street from Walnut Street to East Street and on East Street from Second Street to Third Street.And Shive-Hattery of Moline was hired to plan a sewer project on Lake Street from the pumping station near Lake Village Apartments to Ladd Avenue.City Manager Kip Spear said all the projects are included in the city’s capital improvements budget for this fiscal year, and will be paid for with non-home rule sales tax funds.The sewer line on Lake Street handles sewage from a large area of the east end of Kewanee, including the Illinois Youth Center, BOMAG and Great Dane on Kentville Road.There have been a couple of leaks in the line in the last few years, Spear said, and replacing it is a priority.One of the things the engineers will address, he said, is whether a larger pipe than the one that’s there now should be installed.Also Monday, Spear was asked by Councilman Mike Yaklich how a study of city health insurance costs is coming along.Earlier this year the council hired a consulting firm to look at the city’s employee health insurance package. The city’s health insurance costs have risen from $800,000 a year a few years ago to $1.8 million in the fiscal year that ended April 30.Spear said that while the city’s health insurance costs have moderated somewhat, they’re still high — “I think it is high enough that we’ll be seriously discussing alternatives in the near future.”In other action:- Mayor Bruce Tossell announced that the city transfer station will be closed until Monday for a floor replacement. The station will be open from 7 a.m. to noon on five Saturdays this summer: June 22, July 13 and 27 and Aug. 10 and 24.- The council gave permission for closing Routes 34 and 78 on Saturday, Aug. 31 for the Hog Festival Parade, and for the second annual Kewanee to Peoria St. Jude run on Aug. 3.- The annual ordinance setting prevailing wagers for workers on local public works projects was approved.- The council hired Advanced Asphalt of Princeton for the summer street repair program. Advanced’s bid of $327,684 was $14,018 below the engineer’s estimate for the job.